Explanatory Framework Research Articles

Three-Pronged Resentment: How Status Insecurity, Relative Deprivation, and Powerlessness Mediate Between Social Positions and Populist Attitudes

Populist attitudes are frequently tied to a specific social position, namely the constituent’s status as a “loser of globalization.” Adding nuance to this explanatory framework, we investigate whether and how resentment mediates between social positions and populist attitudes. We distinguish three constitutive components of resentment—status insecurity, relative deprivation, and powerlessness—and analyze to what extent these sentiments explain the prevalence of two key populist attitudes: anti-elitism and demands for popular sovereignty. Using survey data from the Belgian National Election Study 2014, we show that although both populist attitudes are more likely among individuals of low socioeconomic status, this effect is mediated by a sense of group relative deprivation (anti-elitism and popular sovereignty) and feelings of powerlessness (anti-elitism). The effect of individual-level status insecurities on populist attitudes is, however, not significant. These results suggest that people do not simply adhere to antagonistic and people-centric views about politics because they experience economic precariousness; they embrace populist attitudes if their vulnerability is perceived in terms of a threatened sense of group position and understood as the outcome of an unjust society, wherein they feel powerless to alter their circumstances.

Making the global turn matter: strategies and pathways

Abstract The survey examines the past, present and future of the urban history field in Britain, mixing memories and reflections. I trace the global turn of that field and the challenges it brings. One argument concerns the impact of a global scale on the methods and the explanatory frameworks used. A second concern is the role of economic history and economic frameworks of analysis in the writing of urban history, and I advocate their continued relevance.

Navigating legal protections for cohabiting and economic relationships: can the market/home dichotomy guide us?

ABSTRACT Many Western jurisdictions take a split approach to protecting the economically vulnerable party in private relationships. In the family sphere, many jurisdictions are reluctant to intervene in intimate partner relationships, particularly outside the marital context. This lack of legal protection often leaves the economically vulnerable partner in a precarious financial position at the end of the relationship. By contrast, legal protections for vulnerable parties are much more common in the economic sphere. This article explores this split approach to protecting the vulnerable partner in private relationships through the lens of the market/home dichotomy. It focuses on the Belgian regulation for unmarried cohabiting partners on the one hand, and for tenants, consumers, and employees on the other hand. The article concludes that the dichotomy has value as an explanatory framework for the divergent norms of cohabiting and economic relationships, but that it is most useful as a heuristic framework for challenging the ideologies that inspire the market and the family. Incorporating the viewpoint of non-traditional families only adds to that conclusion.

Ultrasound imaging based recognition of prenatal anomalies: a systematic clinical engineering review

For prenatal screening, ultrasound (US) imaging allows for real-time observation of developing fetal anatomy. Understanding normal and aberrant forms through extensive fetal structural assessment enables for early detection and intervention. However, the reliability of anomaly diagnosis varies depending on operator expertise and device limits. First trimester scans in conjunction with circulating biochemical markers are critical in identifying high-risk pregnancies, but they also pose technical challenges. Recent engineering advancements in automated diagnosis, such as artificial intelligence (AI)-based US image processing and multimodal data fusion, are developing to improve screening efficiency, accuracy, and consistency. Still, creating trust in these data-driven solutions is necessary for integration and acceptability in clinical settings. Transparency can be promoted by explainable AI (XAI) technologies that provide visual interpretations and illustrate the underlying diagnostic decision making process. An explanatory framework based on deep learning is suggested to construct charts depicting anomaly screening results from US video feeds. AI modelling can then be applied to these charts to connect defects with probable deformations. Overall, engineering approaches that increase imaging, automation, and interpretability hold enormous promise for altering traditional workflows and expanding diagnostic capabilities for better prenatal care.

Deep CANALs: a deep learning approach to refining the canalization theory of psychopathology.

Psychedelic therapy has seen a resurgence of interest in the last decade, with promising clinical outcomes for the treatment of a variety of psychopathologies. In response to this success, several theoretical models have been proposed to account for the positive therapeutic effects of psychedelics. One of the more prominent models is "RElaxed Beliefs Under pSychedelics," which proposes that psychedelics act therapeutically by relaxing the strength of maladaptive high-level beliefs encoded in the brain. The more recent "CANAL" model of psychopathology builds on the explanatory framework of RElaxed Beliefs Under pSychedelics by proposing that canalization (the development of overly rigid belief landscapes) may be a primary factor in psychopathology. Here, we make use of learning theory in deep neural networks to develop a series of refinements to the original CANAL model. Our primary theoretical contribution is to disambiguate two separate optimization landscapes underlying belief representation in the brain and describe the unique pathologies which can arise from the canalization of each. Along each dimension, we identify pathologies of either too much or too little canalization, implying that the construct of canalization does not have a simple linear correlation with the presentation of psychopathology. In this expanded paradigm, we demonstrate the ability to make novel predictions regarding what aspects of psychopathology may be amenable to psychedelic therapy, as well as what forms of psychedelic therapy may ultimately be most beneficial for a given individual.

How public commuting stress promotes employee turnover intention: an examination through the lens of the transactional theory of stress

ABSTRACT Background and objectives The potential detrimental effects of commuting stress have gradually attracted scholars’ interest in recent years. Going beyond the perspectives of prior studies (e.g., conservation of resources theory), this study offers a new explanatory framework for the relationship between employees’ commuting stress and turnover intention based on the transactional theory of stress. Specifically, this study aims to investigate the mediating effect of hindrance appraisal and the moderating effect of trait mindfulness. Design and method To test the hypotheses, we collected two-wave data from 243 employees working in various Chinese firms. Path analysis was used for the analysis. Results The findings demonstrated that hindrance appraisal mediated the positive relationship between commuting stress and turnover intention. In addition, trait mindfulness buffered the relationship between commuting stress and turnover intention as well as the indirect effect of hindrance appraisal on this relationship. Conclusions The findings highlight the stressor appraisal mechanism in the association between commuting stress and turnover intention and identify trait mindfulness as a key coping mechanism for reducing commuting stress.

Developing interconnectedness is critical in retaining rural general practitioners: A qualitative thematic analysis of recently recruited general practitioners to South East New South Wales, Australia.

Australia, in common with many countries globally, has a shortage of doctors working rurally. Whilst strategies and current research focus on recruitment, attrition from rural practice is a significant determinant of such shortages. Understanding doctors' decisions to stay or leave, once recruited, may provide further insights on how to address this rural differential. This study comprises a qualitative study of 21 recently recruited nationally-trained doctors and international medical graduates to a rural area of New South Wales, Australia. Interviews focused on their experiences prior to and within rural practice, and how these influenced their future career intentions. We used reflexive thematic analysis with each interview coded by two researchers to build an explanatory framework. Our findings comprise five themes which applied differentially to nationally-trained doctors and international medical graduates: connectedness across professional, personal and geographic domains, how multi-faceted connectedness was, and dissonance between participants' expectations and experiences. Amongst nationally-trained doctors, connectedness stemmed from prior rural experiences which engendered expectations founded upon their ability to develop community-level relationships. Experiences were mixed; some described difficulties maintaining a boundary between their personal and professional lives, which encroached upon their ability to embed within the community. International medical graduates' expectations were cultivated by their pre-conceptions of Australian postgraduate training but they lamented a lack of professional opportunities once in practice. Moreover, they described a lack of professional relationships with local, nationally-trained, doctors that could help them embed into rural practice. This study highlighted that when connectedness occurs across professional, geographic and personal domains doctors are more likely to continue rural practice, whilst illustrating how the importance of each domain may differ amongst different cadres of doctor. Supporting such cadres develop supportive interrelationships may be a low hanging fruit to maximise retention.

Towards a Multi-Scale Effect of Land Mixed Use on Resident Population—A Novel Explanatory Framework of Interactive Spatial Factors

Starting from Jane Jacobs’ critiques and largely promoted and emphasized by New Urbanism, land mixed use (LMU) has become prevalent worldwide. It is believed to be an efficient approach to shaping a higher level of vitality in the economy, equality in society, and quality in the environment. To reveal the differences of this effect at distinct spatial scales, this study selected the two most related outcomes of LMU—resident population distribution and changes—to investigate the LMU impacts. A novel framework is developed to quantify the interactive impact of pairwise LMU-related factors at multiple scales, and the geographical detector is applied to identify the relationship between resident population distribution/changes and LMU. Taking the Jiading District of Shanghai as a pilot case, the framework was applied and tested. The results showed LMU affected resident population distribution distinctively from 600 m to 3000 m grid scales. The grid scale of 1800 m, approximately ten blocks, is revealed to be the optimal scale for discussing LMU with the selected factors. Also, these factors play different roles at different spatial scales. Some factors strongly affect the resident population distribution only when working with other factors. The study emphasized the crucial role of scale in LMU and suggested an open framework to support the decision making and policy making in planning for a better performance of smart growth and sustainability via LMU. It can help researchers obtain the optimal scale for the LMU plans with different sets of factors and identify the key factors in various contexts. Thus, this framework also contributes to supporting other practices of land mixed use beyond our study region.

Influencing factors on ammonia emissions from gasoline vehicles: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Ammonia, a significant precursor for secondary inorganic aerosols, plays a pivotal role in new particle formation. Inventories and source apportionment studies have identified vehicular exhaust as a primary source of atmospheric ammonia in urban regions. Existing research on the factors influencing ammonia emissions from gasoline vehicles exhibits substantial inconsistencies in both test results and analyses. The lack of a uniform pattern in ammonia emissions across different standard vehicles and the significant overlap in test results across diverse operational conditions highlight the complexities in this field of study. While individual results can be interpreted through a mechanistic lens, disparate studies often lack a common explanatory framework. To address this gap, our study leverages the robust and comprehensive approach of meta-analysis to reconcile these inconsistencies and provide a more precise understanding of the factors influencing ammonia emissions from gasoline vehicles. A large number (N = 537) of ammonia emission factors were extracted after screening >1628 publications. The combined ammonia emission factor was 23.57 ± 24.94 mg/km. Emission standards, engine type, ambient temperatures, mileage, vehicle speed, and engine displacement have a significant impact on ammonia emission factors, explaining the ammonia emission factor by up to 50.63 %, with speed being the most significant factor. All these factors are attributed to the interplay of catalyst properties, lambda, and residence time (space velocity). In the current fleet, ammonia emission control is relatively insufficient under low-speed and ultra-high speed, low temperature, and ultra-high mileage conditions. Since ammonia emission factors do not monotonically decrease with the upgrading of motor vehicle emission standards, it is called for the addition of ammonia emission factors indicators in motor vehicle emission standards, and stipulation of targeted testing procedures and testing instruments.

Alternative FÜR Deutschland’s Electoral Success: A Birth of a New Class in Germany?

The issue of class division has been growing in importance as a common problem in modern society. This paper first synthesizes the results of existing research on the voter groups of the extreme right-wing political parties represented by the Alternative for Germany (AfD), and then, based on the existing theories of class division and the theory of "risk society", proposes a new explanatory framework for the traditional theory that the criterion of class division in the highly globalized developed countries has been gradually changed from wealth to risk, that is, the "risk class". The concept of "risk class" is then used to explain the results of previous studies. Finally, this study argues that the emergence of this "risk class" is a manifestation of Germany's democratic deficit, which indicates that Germany's democracy has not effectively reduced the inequality of social risks in recent years. The rise of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is a significant signal of this.

Perceived and Real Water Competency and Drowning Risk Among Adults

Traditionally, public understanding of drowning survival has focused on swimming capacity, often measured by how far a person can swim. With respect to the high incidence of adult drowning in high-income countries, using the more inclusive concept of water competency may yield a more comprehensive explanatory framework for understanding the reasons behind these drownings. Any competency base required to survive a drowning situation is dynamic, complex, and multi-faceted. Furthermore, perceptions of risk and capacity to cope with that risk are likely to be pivotal to the avoidance of drowning. Adults’ perceived water competence was measured against their actual water competence in a pool environment. Adults were tested on their competence in entering and exiting water, floating, and swimming. Despite most adults (98%) being unable to swim more than 100 m in open water, more than half (59%) perceived themselves as good swimmers, and more than quarter (27%) thought they could swim more than 200 m at the post-survey. In conclusion, reality gaps were found in water competence among adult groups. Differences between perceived and actual competence suggest that many adults may underestimate the risk of drowning and overestimate their competency. This provides a plausible explanation as to why many adults drown.

Examining Potential Psychological Protective and Risk Factors for Stress and Burnout in Social Workers

AbstractSocial work professionals experience high levels of stress and burnout. Stress and burnout can have a negative impact on the individual social worker, the organisations they work for, and perhaps most importantly, the quality of care that marginalised groups that are supported by social workers receive. Several work-related predictors of stress and burnout have been identified; however, no studies have examined the underlying psychological protective and risk factors which might help to explain changes in social worker stress and burnout. Using the clinically modified Buddhist psychological model (CBPM) as a theoretical framework, this cross-sectional study attempted to identify psychological protective and risk factors for stress and burnout in 121 social workers in Northern Ireland, using structural equation modelling, and conditional process analyses. This study provided promising preliminary evidence for a mediated effect CBPM as being a potentially useful explanatory framework of variation in social worker stress, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalisation. This study also provided evidence that several CBPM domains could have a direct effect on personal accomplishment. This study provides preliminary evidence that support programmes, which have the capacity to improve each CBPM domain (mindfulness, acceptance, attention regulation/decentering, self-compassion, non-attachment, and non-aversion) and reduce experiences of worry and rumination, are likely to support social workers to experience reduced stress, emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation of service users, and improvements in personal accomplishment.

Enterprise Implementation of Educational Technology: Exploring Employee Learning Behavior in E-Learning Environments

In the rapidly evolving landscape of information technology and with the ubiquitousness of the internet, corporations are increasingly focused on harnessing educational technology to boost their competitive prowess. A pivotal question emerges: Can they implement this technology effectively and sustainably to enhance the learning capabilities of their workforce and facilitate their accumulation of knowledge and skills? This concern remains a central focus in the corporate sphere. From educational psychology, goal orientation theory offers an explanatory framework for understanding learner (employee) behavior variations following learning interventions. This research is grounded in the e-learning environment fostered by educational technology within corporations. It explores and hypothesizes the impact of employee achievement motivations—including learning, proving, and avoiding goal orientations—on self-regulated learning (encompassing cognitive, motivational, and behavioral adjustments). Additionally, this study examines how employees’ self-regulated learning and learning satisfaction with the learning process influence learning effectiveness (learning outcomes) assessments. Our empirical survey targeted 380 employees from 26 companies participating in corporate educational technology learning (e-learning), with our research hypotheses tested through PLS structural equation modeling. The analysis indicates that employees’ learning and proving goal orientations indirectly positively affect their learning outcomes by mediating self-regulated learning and learning satisfaction. Conversely, employees’ avoidance goal orientation indirectly negatively impacts their learning outcomes by mediating their self-regulated learning and learning satisfaction. Finally, the researchers offer recommendations for management and future research directions.

“Problems you can live with” versus emergencies: how community members in rural Ethiopia contend with conditions requiring surgery

Background98% of people with surgical conditions living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) do not receive safe, timely and affordable surgical and anesthesia care. Research exploring barriers to receiving care has tended to be narrow in focus, often facility-based and ignoring the community beliefs, experiences and behaviours that will be an essential component of closing the gap in surgical care. Using qualitative methods, we captured diverse community perspectives in rural Ethiopia: exploring beliefs, perceptions, knowledge and experiences related to surgical conditions, with the overall aim of (re)constructing explanatory models.MethodsOur study was nested within a community-based survey of surgical conditions conducted in the Butajira Health and Demographic Surveillance Site, southern Ethiopia, and a follow-up study of people accessing surgical care in two local hospitals. We carried out 24 semi-structured interviews. Participants were community members who needed but did/did not access surgical care, community-based healthcare workers and traditional bone-setters. Interviews were conducted in Amharic, audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated into English. We initially carried out thematic analysis and we recognized that emerging themes were aligned with Kleinman’s explanatory models framework and decided to use this to guide the final stages of analysis.ResultsWe found that community members primarily understood surgical conditions according to severity. We identified two categories: conditions you could live with and those which required urgent care, with the latter indicating a clear and direct path to surgical care whilst the former was associated with a longer, more complex and experimental pattern of help-seeking. Fear of surgery and poverty disrupted help-seeking, whilst community narratives based on individual experiences fed into the body of knowledge people used to inform decisions about care.ConclusionsWe found explanatory models to be flexible, responsive to new evidence about what might work best in the context of limited community resources. Our findings have important implications for future research and policy, suggesting that community-level barriers have the potential to be responsive to carefully designed interventions which take account of local knowledge and beliefs.

Parenting following the Death of a Child in War or Terror Attack: “Hyper-Enfranchised Loss”

The purpose of this study is to examine the experience of parenting following the death of a child in a terror attack or war in Israel, from a socio-cultural perspective. The study was conducted according to the Three-sphere Context Model in qualitative narrative research. In-depth, semi-structured life story interviews with 18 Israeli parents who were bereaved in national circumstances and were raising at least one minor surviving child were analyzed according to a narrative-contextual method. The analysis focuses on the multi-dimensional socio-cultural context as expressed in the interviews and as referenced in extra-textual sources as an explanatory framework. The following cultural themes were salient in the interview texts: child-centeredness, the of Jewish survival, the unraveling of the Hegemonic Bereavement Model following the Yom Kippur War, the Holocaust as a template of the construction of loss, the appropriation of the deceased child as a national martyr, and the motif of Jewish heroism and the hierarchy of grief. Following a discussion of the findings using Jung’s notion of the collective unconscious, a new concept of “hyper-enfranchised” loss and grief is presented. For some parents this hyper-enfranchisement helped them to carry on as parents, while for others it constituted a burden. Finally, Terror Management Theory is employed to help explain the grief and parenting processes presented in the findings.

Corporate social responsibility marketing; a way to firm performance; an empirical study: case of Egypt

This study aims to clarify the impact that CSR marketing has on the firm performance. Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility Marketing Activities Employed by Companies Explored through Website, Google Search, Annual Report, and Egyptian CSR Reports. This study employs exploratory and qualitative data acquired through several research methodologies to explore the benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility Marketing Activities Employed by Companies. The collected data are then used to develop an updated and critically analyzed explanatory framework, which establishes the link between financial performance and CSR marketing. The results indicate that the link between CSR and financial performance is strong. The study also provides relevant practical implications for organizations in developing nations, such as Egypt. It shows that adopting and implementing CSR programs can help companies gain competitive advantage. The significance of this study lies in its provision of empirical evidence regarding the influence of marketing practices related to environmental, social, and governance factors on the financial performance of Egyptian companies, specifically in relation to the sustainability index.

Social rank and compassion: How insecure striving, social safeness and fears of compassion mediate the relationship between masculinity, depression and anxiety.

Traditional masculinity norms displayed by men attempt to signal a dominance or 'toughness' to others; however, traditional masculine norms are associated with a range of mental health difficulties, including depression and anxiety. Based on social rank theory, we tested the mediating role of insecure striving, social safeness and fears of compassion on the relationship between masculinity, anxiety and depression. We also examined whether compassionate goals were negatively correlated with masculine norm adherence. We used a cross-sectional survey design recruiting 844 men, aged 18-60 years (M = 34.0, SD = 14.4). Our results replicated previous findings with masculine norms significantly associated with depression and anxiety. Extending on previous work, we found insecure striving, social safeness and fears of compassion fully mediated these relationships for anxiety and partially for depression. This relationship was strongest for the masculinity subtypes of self-reliance and emotional control. Compassionate goals were negatively associated with masculine norm adherence. Social rank theory offers a helpful explanatory framework to understand the links between traditional masculinity and mental health, highlighting the importance of social safeness and insecure striving for men.

Preventing and reducing aggressive bullying behavior: theoretical and praxiological framework

The prevention and reduction of aggressive toup bullying behavior is also current in social, psychological and pedagogical terms. This is faced through the involvement of different international structures in the establishment of strategies to reduce and prevent the ,,bullying” phenomenon. In this study, we start from the analysis of various documents, conventions, international treaties in which the problem of preventing and reducing the aggressive behavior of students is posed. At the same time, the explanatory theoretical framework of the ,,bullying” phenomenon is extensively analyzed, and some strategies for preventing and reducing bullying in high schools are argued: primary prevention, secondary prevention, tertiary prevention, having as general directions: education and awareness of the phenomenon, social development -emotional, promoting zero tolerance towards bullying, supervision and prompt interventions, collaboration with parents and the community.

Big data innovation and implementation in projects teams: towards a SEM approach to conflict prevention

PurposeDespite an enormous body of literature on conflict management, intra-group conflicts vis-à-vis team performance, there is currently no study investigating the conflict prevention approach to handling innovation-induced conflicts that may hinder smooth implementation of big data technology in project teams.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses constructs from conflict theory, and team power relations to develop an explanatory framework. The study proceeded to formulate theoretical hypotheses from task-conflict, process-conflict, relationship and team power conflict. The hypotheses were tested using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) to understand key preventive measures that can encourage conflict prevention in project teams when implementing big data technology.FindingsResults from the structural model validated six out of seven theoretical hypotheses and identified Relationship Conflict Prevention as the most important factor for promoting smooth implementation of Big Data Analytics technology in project teams. This is followed by power-conflict prevention, prevention of task disputes and prevention of Process conflicts respectively. Results also show that relationship and power conflicts interact on the one hand, while task and relationship conflict prevention also interact on the other hand, thus, suggesting the prevention of one of the conflicts could minimise the outbreak of the other.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has been conducted within the context of big data adoption in a project-based work environment and the need to prevent innovation-induced conflicts in teams. Similarly, the research participants examined are stakeholders within UK projected-based organisations.Practical implicationsThe study urges organisations wishing to embrace big data innovation to evolve a multipronged approach for facilitating smooth implementation through prevention of conflicts among project frontlines. This study urges organisations to anticipate both subtle and overt frictions that can undermine relationships and team dynamics, effective task performance, derail processes and create unhealthy rivalry that undermines cooperation and collaboration in the team.Social implicationsThe study also addresses the uncertainty and disruption that big data technology presents to employees in teams and explore conflict prevention measure which can be used to mitigate such in project teams.Originality/valueThe study proposes a Structural Model for establishing conflict prevention strategies in project teams through a multidimensional framework that combines constructs like team power conflict, process, relationship and task conflicts; to encourage Big Data implementation.

‘Stand Against the Wiles of the Devil’: Interpreting QAnon as a Pseudo-Christian Extremist Movement

The religious dimensions of the QAnon movement and links with political violence have been noted by researchers. This paper furthers this scholarship by conducting an analysis of 121 religious images taken from QAnon Telegram channels over 18 months. Through adopting semiotic and hermeneutical theory, it is argued that QAnon religious imagery can be categorised into a series of types, all influenced by Christian theological themes. When interpreted in a Christian context, these images reveal a close relationship with US-based Christian evangelicalism and with Christian liberation theology movements. By presenting contemporary politics as an eschatological battle between the oppressed and oppressors, framed as the QAnon community versus the devil, the QAnon movement encourages political activism closely analogous to Christian liberation theology movements. This contributes to an explanatory framework for the connections between QAnon followers and anti-government protest and violence during the Covid-19 pandemic and the 6 January storming of the US Capitol.